Janeane Garofalo

Actor / Comedian

Born: 28 September 1964

Birthplace: Newton, New Jersey

Best known as: Tart-tongued comic actress and radio host

Comic actress Janeane Garofalo's schtick is cynical, harsh, and yet somehow still charming. She began in stand-up comedy and then moved into television in the early '90s, part of Ben Stiller's one season on Fox, and then as a regular on The Larry Sanders Show. Garofalo then appeared in independently produced comedies such as Reality Bites (1994, with Winona Ryder) and The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996, with Uma Thurman), as well as more dramatic roles in Cop Land (1997, with Sylvester Stallone) and Permanent Midnight (1998). Garofalo was in several movies in between 1998 and 2000, including The Minus Man (1999), Mystery Men (1999, with Hank Azaria and Paul Reubens), 200 Cigarettes (1999, with Ben Affleck) and the animated Titan A. E. (2000, with Matt Damon and Drew Barrymore). Garofalo also worked in radio, as co-host of Majority Report (2004-06), a syndicated show critical of the George W. Bush administration. Her other credits include the animated feature Ratatouille (2007) and the TV series 24 (2009) and Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011).

Extra credit:

The name is pronounced "juh-NEEN ga-ROF-a-low."… Her production company is named I Hate Myself… In 2005 she appeared as a guest star in several episodes of TV’s The West Wing (starring Martin Sheen).